Coronavirus: Nigerian tests positive for disease in United States

A Nigerian man in his 50s, who lives in Nigeria, but has been staying with family members in Washington recently, has tested positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Maryland, where he remains hospitalized.

Mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser says “late this afternoon, testing at the Public Health lab at the DC Department of Forensic Sciences yielded its first presumptive coronavirus case.”

“With his test yielding presumptive positive, D.C. Health has started its investigation in keeping with CDC guidelines,” Bowser adds.

Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser confirms first case of the Coronavirus in the U.S capital (Business Insider) Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser confirms first case of the Coronavirus in the U.S capital (Business Insider) Pulse Nigeria

The investigation will include tracing the man’s movements, even though the mayor declined to say where in Washington the man lived.

U.S President Donald Trump says he isn’t concerned “at all” about the coronavirus getting closer to the White House.

Officials say an attendee of a recent political conference in the capital where Trump himself had spoken, also tested positive for the virus.

“No, I’m not concerned at all. No, I’m not. We’ve done a great job," Trump says.

US President Trump says the country is ready to contain the outbreak. (AFP) AFP

The novel coronavirus has so far killed 3, 649 people with 107, 233 cases recorded on a global scale, most of them in the Chinese province of Hubei which is the epicenter of the virus.

60,905 people have recovered from the virus thus far.

Nigeria confirmed its first case of the virus on domestic soil, from an Italian visiting the country for business, on February 27, 2020.

Officials say the patient is in stable condition.